Dinner with Dear Friends and the Regressive Nature of Things in Process

My friend Abbie and I had dinner together tonight. I was so excited she could go with me. I was hoping that her beau could as well, but the poor guy was whacked with an illness. Nevertheless, Abbie and I went to dinner, and we had a marvelous time. With Abbie’s and my marvelous time came for me a bittersweet realization.

I am leaving Chicago in less than forty-eight hours. Please don’t get me wrong, I am most excited to move! For that, there is no question. On the same note though, I couldn’t help but try to figure out where to eat tonight with Abbie, as I have so many favorite eateries here in Chicago. The first place on my mind was Marigold, which is not too far from where I live in Chicago. Marigold is just a smidge North of Lawrence on Broadway. At Marigold, they serve nice Indian cuisine, but what is so delightful about it is that it has a Modern aesthetic. I called Marigold for reservations; alas, they close for Mondays.

I called Abbie to let her know, but as I am moving and she hadn’t eaten anything interesting, we continued with plans. I went down to Ben and Abbie’s, and we got in Abbie’s car to go out for dinner. The next place I picked was May St. Café, which is in Pilsen, Southwest of the Loop in Chicago. Pilsen is largely a Latin neighborhood, but probably will not be as much one the next time I return. I say that because Pilsen is re-gentrifying, filling with hipsters and Indie Rock record labels. Whatever the case, May St. Café is Nueva Latina cuisine, and it is terrific.

Of course, as Abbie and I drove by May St., we noticed they too were closed. Therein, we decided it was time to head to one of my other remaining favorite not-to-be-missed-while-still-a-resident-of-Chicago-for-forty-eight-hours restaurants. Abbie drove us up to Argyle, which is the Vietnamese equivalent to Chinatown on the North side of Chicago. I took Abbie to a favorite restaurant up there, Hai Yen, which has another wing in Lincoln Park now. I still prefer the restaurant up on Argyle for atmosphere and its proximity to more things Vietnamese. Dinner was great, and Abbie was great company.

Throughout dinner and trying to find folks to join me, I kept finding the same thoughts running through my mind. First, of course, were thoughts relative to how little time I have remaining in Chicago, such that if I do not go out for dinner tonight, then I can kiss that restaurant goodbye for a year or two. Who knows? I thought of that a lot, and I thought, “My goodness, I am moving to a place with fewer restaurants with fewer ethnicities.” In the process of that though, I thought about happily giving up the plethora of ethnicities for greater proximity to the outdoors in Boise. Beyond that, I thought of something even more captivating with my move, via comparison and contrast.

While there may be a plethora of eateries, neighborhoods and ethnicities in Chicago, the hours I work and the difficulty moving between geographies is such that I don’t get to enjoy the accoutrements of living here in Chicago. I was thinking the same thing about the proximity to my friends.

Of course, everything is relative, but in saying that I found tonight that with two nights left in Chicago, it is near impossible to last minute motivate a few folks to do something. My theory on why things are that way is, the barriers of entry to activities requiring movement from one’s couch or neighborhood are too high from an opportunity cost-perspective. Living here in Chicago, I find that most things are too inconvenient for us to embrace more impulsive things without planning for them (of course, that means they wouldn't be impulsive...). In factoring in a job that requires more than forty-five or fifty hours a week and the commute that comes with that to and from home, it becomes obvious that even with all of these opportunities or adventures, we are too constrained by what makes the city an attractive place to move. I am sure one could find the same things said about London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Shanghai.

At the end of the day, it all reduces to economics, which is to say that there is truth in the market. Cities and populations coalesce and grow due to the demand for their qualities; it is only geographic and environmental concerns that inhibit growth. For those of us fatigued from the size and inconveniences of accessibility to everything, the alternatives lie elsewhere, but they come with sacrifices. For one, I am quite sure there is not a thriving Modern Indian restaurant, Vietnamese or Latin eatery in Boise that could compete with that I mentioned. Knowing that, however, I have to say, I still could not be more excited about my move this week. Quite simply, as Boise is smaller than Chicago is, Chicago is smaller than New York is ad infinitum. As our wants are insatiable, so are the populations of cities. One can move continuously in search of new experiences, features and capabilities of respective cities’ substances. Yet, I question whether one can achieve their objectives otherwise, as wants are insatiable isn't attempting to sate them infinitely regressive?